Is Windfree a good TD ship?

[maddog1]

Hi;

I have a chance to buy a Mark's Models Windfree but wondered what kind of plane it was to fly. I lke the looks of older woodies and this plane has a great look.

[Ollie]

The Windfree with a great pilot makes it's flying great. The Windfree with a poor pilot makes it's flying poorly. The Windfree depends on the craftmanship, adustments and pilot skills.

[Tim Wolff]

One constant with the Windfree I've observed is that they appear to be difficult to keep straight on the tow. The single biggest reason I've never owned one.

[glderguy]

My windfree flew great, be sure and build it straight. Best I remember it wasnt an easy build. The wing was VERY flexible on tow, maybe thats`one of
the reasons one would find it hard to straighten once it starts wandering on tow?
Walter

[Ollie]

The Windfree has a hook that pivots on the wing jointer because the depth of the fuselage and lots of wing dihedral. It is important for the adjustment of the hook's gate in the bottom of the fuselage. The Windfree was designed for 6V wenches so, don't bend the wing too much.

[slozuke]

All good comments to read as I am just about to start building my Skybench Aerotech version. An old freind had one but only hand launched from a hilltop. From what I remember, it flew great, which is why I decided to get one when I saw them being laser cut. Too bad they aren't being produced anymore.
I do plan to beef up the spar to reduce the flexing of that skinny wing as I do plan on hand launching as well as high start launches.
If I were you I'd get it, but then again I am biased. But they are good looking planes. :cool:

[Phoebusflyer]

Regardless of the posts you have already looked at, the Windfree is one of the finest TD ships ever built. With it's light wing loading and solid construction, you will grow to LOVE this plane. Yes, it is a bit more difficult to build than some, but if you will take the time to build straight and true, you will NOT be disappointed. I am on my second Windfree in 25 years, and it is STILL my favorite plane to fly and thermal. Last week, here in West Texas, I flew for more than 30 minutes, even though the temp. was a little over 50 degrees. No, it won't penetrate into the wind if it's more than about 10 to 15 knots, but with anything less, you will love the flying. It is a little more difficult than most 99" planes, but with the weight around 30 oz. or less, you will not be disappointed. Especially if you want to catch lift and stay up longer than 10 minutes. Buy it, build it and ENJOY it.

[Phoebusflyer]

Don't worry about the Windree on a Hi-start launch. It will handle it with ease. However, never put it on a "superhose", I did back around 1982, and the tail fluttered and dove in nose first. Nothing left but the right wing, and it took away my interest in r/c for a long time. A standard hi-start for standard class ships will keep you going without problems.
Let us know what you decide, but if I were you, I would NOT worry about it. Build it, enjoy it.

[Phoebusflyer]

They are easily correctable on tow. Yes, they will sometimes go off to one side or another, but they straighten up with a little rudder input just fine.

[Esprit2]

Fly the Windfree like a modern plane and you'll find alot that's wrong with it. But fly it for what it is and it's a nice sailplane. It won Nat's... what?... 4 times? Part of that was Mark Smith being a savy pilot, but the plane did fly well.

Like many planes of that period, the spar and joiners are pretty small, the plane is lightweight and the airfoil is flatbottomed. It's more floater than lead-sled and you shouldn't let it get downwind on a windy day. Stick it to the bottom of a cloud on a lazy summer day and enjoy.

Weaving back and forth on launch is less of an issue if you just back off a bit. Don't be aggressive, don't flex the wings excessively and don't ride too close to a stall. The trick is to fly the plane up the line and not to shoot it up. There's no hurry.

I've never been a big fan of the Windfree's fuselage styling, especially the nose. The tail's okay. But I love the long, slender, tapered wing and V-dihedral. IMHO, it just looks elegant in flight. Especially coming at you.

This is kind of a diversion, but does anyone remember the old Cox-Kyosho Sportavia? I worked at COX back then and enjoyed favorable pricing, so I went through a lot of them. It was a manufactured foamie so I wasn't attached to them like I might be to something I built. But, it was another plane with a straight-taper, V-dihedral wing that just looked good flying. Like a dumb blond who looks so good you really don't mind if she confuses the flash with the view finder. I thought the Sportavia looked good in the air, foamie or not.

I also like the look of real sailplanes with the long, high aspect ratio, rapier wings. Anyway... a while ago I got a wild hair...

I've got a spare set of eBay Windfree wings and a bunch of old Sportavia parts. So I tacked them all together and it looks darned nice. Before starting I thought the wing was going to be way out of scale, but surprise, it really looks good. Kinda like the difference between the proportions of an Aquila and those of a Grande'.

The Windfree root chord is only a tiny wee bit more than the Sportavia's, so dressing up the fuselage wing root fillet would be minor work. My thought was to close up the open hole that is the fuselage's belly wing-saddle and fillet matching airfoil sections into the sides. Then add a carry-through structure and Windfree wing rods so that the stock Windfree wings will fit without modifying them. Build up some slightly larger tailfeathers and mount them a couple of inches further back on the existing fuselage taper... trying not to turn the fuselage styling into a cartoon. A brushless motor and some Lithium-Polys... hmmm.

I know there are lots of self-launch sailplanes falling off the shelves everywhere, but I think I'm liking the idea of an electric Sportavia on a long wing (Sportfree, Windtavia... ?). Not a hotliner. Just a nice stand-way-off scale look skimming along an a nice sunny day when I don't have time to string out a launch system. Maybe one flight at the end of the day, staring me in the eye on a long, lazy final approach with an orange sunset as a backdrop. Am I nutz... ?

Dr. Drela need not answer that last question... ;-) ... I know the errors of my ways. But I do it anyway 'cuz sometimes the results are fun.

All that was a few months ago. Then I had to pack for a move and those bits are still in a box. I know where it is, but other priorities are interfering.

Tim

[schrederman]

I built 4 of them. The last one when I got back into modelling in 2000. I loved every one of them. If you compare them to a modern ship, you'll be disappointed, I still have the last one. I gave it to my brother to get him enticed back into modelling. He passed away after flying it for about a year. His widow gave it back to me for a keepsake. I agree that it's one of the finest models ever. Now I'll never be without one...

Jack Womack

[mdrossno1]

Thanks to to all for the excellent advice.

[Gliderguy]

Does anyone know if a 3 meter Hose Monster high start rubber would be too hard on a Windfree?

[bobby legue]

I have launched everything from a 2x4 [48 inch ] to a 3.5 meter plane with the 3m hosemonster. All you have to do is pull it back a reasonable amount. On smaller- lighter planes I use all the string. 500 feet of string and 100 feet of hose slows the arc of the launch way down. Gives it a nice ride.
Bob

[Phoebusflyer]

I lost a Windfree on a friends hi-start. He had purchased a bigger diameter surgical hose than the standard hi-start had on it. He used 400' of line and would launch an ASW-15 100" plane with it. (don't remember the manufacturer) He talked me into putting the Windfree on it one day and that was it! I don't remember how much tension we had on it, wasn't as much as he used with his 15, but anyway. I released the Windfree and it built up speed really fast and when I applied some up elevator, the elevator started to flutter. It was really buzzing, it nosed down and hit the ground. Nothing left but the right wing. Everything else was wrecked except my radio.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know what happened to me.